Several publications are referenced in this application by author name, year and journal of publication in parentheses in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. The disclosure of each of these publications is incorporated by reference herein.
Molecular biology has played a pivotal role in the analysis of human diversity. Prior to the development of this branch of science, historians, archaeologists and anthropologists analyzed artifacts and recorded history to study events in the remote past. In the last few years new techniques have been generated allowing an inside view of human history and development by analysis of the variations contained in human DNA. Studies conducted on mitochondrial DNA (Di Rienzo and Wilson, (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 88:1597-1601) provided relevant data relating to the origin of modern man. The data from this study suggest that human beings descended from one women who lived in Africa 1-2,000 centuries ago (Ayala and Escalante, (1996) Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 5:188-201)
The counterpart of the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA is represented by the Y chromosome which is transmitted along the male line from fathers to sons. The study of the variations (mutations) of the human Y chromosome facilitates the investigation of the history of this chromosome and related members of a given male line. Research is currently being conducted regarding the origin and diversity of man by comparing the Y chromosome of different populations. These studies are being conducted on a world-wide level (Spurdle and Jenkins, (1992) Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 2:487-491; Santos et al., (1996) Hum. Gen. 97:309-313).
Rather than the developmental history of whole populations, individuals are often more interested in recent history and ultimately in knowing who their kin are beyond the restricted circle of their close relatives. In western culture, a simple way of identifying families and kin is the attribution of a surname. However, people with the same surname are not always related.
The present invention provides compositions and methods for performing genetic analyses which compare surnames and Y chromosome polymorphisms. The feasibility of identifying close relatives, distant relatives and those unrelated in a male line is demonstrated herein. Additionally, methods for constructing a "Genealogical Tree" of close and distant kin are disclosed.